Integrated Music Theory 2023-24

21a Discussion - Advanced Modulatory Techniques

Class discussion

What do we mean by “advanced modulatory techniques”?

  • Things are going to get wayyy more flexible! And therefore they’re gonna get really weird
    • Modulations to very distant keys are possible
  • Techniques like pivot chords are going to get bizarre in what chords are actually involved, but the baseline rules will stay the same: pivot chords happen in the middle of a phrase, direct/phrase modulations happen between phrases

Modulation #1

  • This ex is weird because where we hear the modulation is really ambiguous, and you can make an argument for modulating on the bVI or the bII in the second phrase
  • This and #2 are examples of mode mixture pivot chords! In this technique, we pivot on a borrowed chord. Just like a regular pivot modulation, these generally happen in the middle of a phrase because you need a functional progression on both sides

Modulation #3

  • Where does this modulation actually happen? Is it a pivot or a phrase modulation?
    • Pivot modulation. Remember that there’s a difference b/w a deceptive cadence and a deceptive progression. We can’t do a direct modulation after a deceptive progression because there’s no cadence–the phrase hasn’t ended.
  • We modulate on the vii07 in the seventh measure! It’s just a respelling of the vii04/2 in the second measure. This is called an enharmonic modulation: by respelling the chord, it takes on a function in the new key. In this case, we’ve pivoting on the respelled vii07
    • When writing the pivot, the chord will be spelled in one of the two keys. This means you have to figure out what the inversion would be in the other key. For this example, you would write vii04/2 in the top half of the bracket, and vii07 in the bottom half of the new key. Seeing both chords are vii07, we will know that you are saying the chords are enharmonically equivalent and that you correctly ID’d the technique
  • You can also modulate using a secondary vii07
  • Common respelled chords: augmented triads (used as V chords) and Fr+6 (respelled as the Fr+6 of the key a tritone away from the home key–sees VERY little use because this isn’t as flexible)

Modulations #5 and #6

  • Another enharmonic modulation, this time respelling a V as a Ger+6 in the new key by respelling the seventh. In this example, a G7 is respelled as a Ger+6 in the key of B major just by respelling the F as an E#
  • In example 5, the Ger+6 has a predominant function. It comes right before I6/4 - V, which are lumped together and have a dominant function
  • When writing out the pivot bracket where the Ger+6 is in the home key, like in example 6, we would label the chord Ger+6 in the top bracket even though it has been respelled. By putting Ger+6 in the top half of the bracket and V7 in the bottom half, we actually inform whoever is looking at our analysis that we understand it has been respelled
  • The progression must be functional on both sides for a pivot modulation, but that’s especially true for these weird modulations that pivot on a chord with different functions in each key. For example, in example 6 the Ger+6 has a predominant function, but when it is respelled as a V7 it has a dominant function